Thursday, March 3, 2005
~ Vol. 117 No. 9
Since 1889
50 Cents
egion C
Citizen of
The Year
1B
} Grand
Tour
School Board
to decide what
to do with plant
BY ANDIE L. BRYMER
Staff Writer
A former textile factory
located across Phifer Road
from Kings Mountain High
School will likely house the
school’s vocational depart-
ment.
Cleveland County
Schools board members
toured the 26,000-square-
foot building Monday after- |
noon. Board members
looked at plans for the pro-
posed renovation.
Officials estimate the
project would cost between
$1 and $1.3 million. The
building has a new roof but
a new ceiling is needed. The
heat and air conditioning
- system and plumbing
would have to be over-
hauled and interior walls
built. The current sprinkler
system can probably be
used. According to architect
Roger Holland, if a new
building had to be built the
project would cost $2.6 mil-
lion. Holland called it “an
efficient use of the money.”
CCS Chairman Dr.
George Litton said the
board was not yet ready to
vote on the project. He esti-
mated the renovations
would be voted on within
three to four months. This
would mean the project
could be ready by Fall 2006.
The building would
house four business labs,
two health occupations
labs, two family and con-
sumer science labs and one
lab each for welding, agri-
culture, drafting, construc-
tion and engineering.
Approximately 70 percent
of the student body will
take a class in the building
each day.
The former Kings
Mountain District Schools
purchased the building in
approximately 2002. It sits
on eight acres.
KMHS Principal John
Yarbro said he was excited
about the project. The 1,300-
student school currently has
15 mobile units.
— WALK THELINE————
Chapel Hill Lineman Chris Perry tosses a basketball to Mert Woodel from the City of
Clayton. Lineman from across the state are attending a week-long school hosted by
the City of Kings Mountain.
Linemen learn ropes
at Kings Mountain class
BY ANDIE L. BRYMER
Staff Writer
Beginning electric line workers from
across the state are learning their trade
this week at a school hosted by the City
of Kings Mountain.
Kings Mountain Crew Foreman Johnny
Putnam, along with instructors from
Monroe, High Point and Albermarle,
taught the 24 students. The group spent
much of the week strapped to the sides of
poles set up at Holiday Inn. They are
learning to scale the poles safety, maneu-
ver in a body belt and work while wear-
ing thick, insulated gloves.
“They're doing fine,” Putnam said. “It’s
hard when you're learning to climb. It
takes getting used to.”
Putnam has worked for the city for 11
years. This is the fourth year he has
taught through the program managed by
ElectriCities.
Kings Mountain will hest a school for
intermediate line workers later this
month and another program for
advanced line workers in April.
ANDIE L. BRYMER/HERALD
Hall of Fame
induction set
May 14 at
KM High
Hicks, Bumgardner, Brannon,
‘89 state champ to be honored
By GARY STEWART
Editor of The Herald
Kings Mountain High’s winningest football coach, a for-
mer Mountaineer baseball player that
still holds the school and state home
run records, the team he led to the state
championship, and a softball slugger
who hit the longest home run ever out
of Minnesota’s Metrodome will be
inducted into the Kings Mountain
Sports Hall of Fame at its 18th' annual
banquet and induction ceremony
Saturday, May 14 at 6 p.m. Kings
Mountain High School.
The Hall of Fame Committee met
recently and named Denny Hicks, Paul
Brannon, Rusty Bumgardner and the
1989 KMHS baseball team to join the
membership.
Hicks had the longest tenure of any
football coach in KMHS history and led
the Mountaineers to a 67-60-2 overall
record from 1983-1994. His 1985, 1986
and 1989 teams competed in the state
3A playoffs and his 1986 team was the
first Mountaineer team since 1964 to
win the Southwestern 3A Conference
championship.
During his tenure Hicks turned out
two players (Tracy Johnson and Calvin
Stephens) that played in the NFL and
several others including Bumgardner,
Aubrey Hollifield, D.J. Williams and
Brent Bagwell that played Division I
college football. -
Hicks was selected North Carolina
High School Coach of the Year in 1985
after leading his Mountaineers to an 11-
3 overall record and three rounds in the
state playoffs.
Hicks’ 1990 golf team won the state
championship. :
Hicks is now retired and living in
BRANNON
BUMGARDNER
© Kings Mountain.
Brannon, who also played football
under Hicks, was the top slugger in KIMHS baseball history.
In his junior year of 1989 he hit a state record 20 home runs
in leading the Mountaineers to the state championship. The
Mountaineers swept Rockingham County in the best-of-
three series played at Lancaster Field.
_ During Brannon's remarkable run to the state home run
record, he compiled a slugging percentage of 1,377, had 48
runs batted in and 112 total bases. He also hit at least one
home run in eight consecutive games.
His career record of 41 home runs is also a school and
state record and ranks 7th nationally.
See Hall, 7A
Explorers, soldier Catherine Buss finally meet
BY ANDIE L. BRYMER
Staff Writer
After months of exchanging letters and cards, Kings
Mountain Police Explorers met the soldier they had corre-
sponded with for several months.
Tuesday night Specialist Catherine Buss used her laptop
computer to show the group photos depicting soldiers’
lives while in Iraq. The youth group gathered around a
table filled with more photos, medals and a Coca-Cola bot-
tle and package of M&Ms with Arabic labeling.
Buss, a member of the 30th Heavy Separate Brigade sta-
tioned in Clinton, arrived home to Kings Mountain in late
December. She spent 10 months in Iraq working as an intel-
ligence analyst. Buss tracked the dates and locations. of
shootings and other incidents looking for patterns.
Buss said overall her time in Iraq was a good experience
but she did miss family and friends from home. The first
two months Buss and her unit had to eat prepackaged
meals-ready-to-eat. The soldier admits many of her letters
home were filled with references to the junk food she
missed.
The Explorer post helped out by sending her packages of
candy which she shared with members of her unit. The sol-
diers wrote a letter back thanking them.
“The kids got a kick out of that,” said Shirley Medlin, an
Explorer advisor.
Medlin works with Buss’ mother Deborah King, a nurse
at Kings Mountain Hospital. The two women started the
letter writing project.
Buss was named soldier of the month late last year. She is
a member of the First Infantry Division 30th Brigade
Combat Team. Buss joined the Army National Guard at age
17 while she was still in high school. She completes her six
year contract at the end of the month. Buss worked as a
bank teller before being deployed.
JOSEPH BRYMER / HERALD
Katherine Buss and Kings Mountain Police Explorers look over photos that she took while on duty in Iraq.
»
Te
rota